In a blow to Democrats in Georgia and across the South, the Democratic National Committee selected Chicago as the site of its 2024 convention despite a strong push for Atlanta to host the political spectacle.


Party officials announced that Chicago would host the convention, dashing hopes of top state Democrats who had lobbied President Joe Biden and his allies relentlessly for the quadrennial event.

They hoped it would showcase Georgia’s growing political importance as one of the nation’s premier battleground states. But instead the convention went to Chicago, the biggest city in one of the nation’s most solidly Democratic states.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/atlanta-loses-bid-for-democratic-national-convention-to-chicago/GLMOV35VZNFJVNDIMDDHT4YZPA/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6592859

Thursday was a day of somber remembrance in Atlanta for the victims of a violent rampage two years ago that shook Asian American and immigrant communities across the city, state, and country. Six of the eight killed at three Atlanta-area spas on March 16, 2021, were Asian women. Among them was Yong Ae Yue, 63, a Korean immigrant who moved to the U.S. in the 1980s.

On Thursday, her son, Robert Peterson, was part of a group of advocates and lawmakers gathered at the Georgia State Capitol to mourn the victims and reflect on the battles and advocacy of the past two years.

“When a family member dies in a mass shooting, our families lose the right to grieve in privacy. But we are not alone. We are grieving together as a community,” he said.

“Today is a day to reimagine and redefine what it means to be Asian American. To show we are no longer invisible and quiet, but we are now … loud and proud.” He added: “We are no longer satisfied with thoughts and prayers.”


https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/its-still-painful-family-members-mourn-victims-of-spa-shootings/R7ITNA5SR5BYRLPFTXMP5SRCV4/

https://www.gpb.org/news/2023/03/10/what-do-the-proposed-georgia-prosecutor-oversight-bills-do-explainer?utm_source=GA+Today+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3adf1d319a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_08_04_04_27_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2024aa7e2-3adf1d319a-1412945147

https://www.ajc.com/politics/kemp-signs-midyear-budget-with-an-almost-1-billion-property-tax-break/7S3LPYNW3BGGVL5UMJRJ7RO7ZE/

Under the spending plan, homeowners will receive an extra one-time exemption on the value of their homes at tax time, a move that Kemp said in January would save those Georgians, on average, about $500. It will cost the state about $950 million.

Under the separate bill the Senate is expected to approve, many Georgians would also receive an income tax rebate, as they did last year. Married couples who file jointly would receive a maximum of $500. Someone who files as head of a household would get up to $375, and single filers could get as much as $250 for single filers.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/house-leaders-ok-budget-with-2k-raises-for-teachers-4k-for-law-officers/J2YZTWGZGJCLFANWAPSJWWNAOI/

House budget writers on Wednesday passed a spending plan for the upcoming year that places heavy emphasis on police and mental health funding, including $4,000 raises for law enforcement officers.

Other state employees, University System of Georgia workers and teachers would receive $2,000 raises in the budget for fiscal 2024 — which begins July 1 — under the proposal approved by the House Appropriations Committee.

The full House is expected to pass the spending plan for the new fiscal year Thursday, sending it to the Senate as lawmakers work to finalize the measure and get it through both chambers by the time the session ends later this month.

Nine children, ages 5 to 17, shot at Georgia gas station; police investigating

Police on Monday continued to search for a motive in a shooting that left nine children injured at a Georgia gas station.

The victims, whose names were not released, ranged in age from 5 to 17, Columbus Police Department Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said. The shooting took place late Friday night in Columbus, about 110 miles southwest of Atlanta and about 85 miles east of Montgomery, Alabama.

Seven males and two females were hurt, the chief told reporters during a news conference on Saturday.

None of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries, Blackmon said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/20/nine-children-shot-georgia-gas-station-columbus/11303328002/